Wicked Heat

“You’re staring,” she murmured.

“So I am.”

The woman’s brows rose slightly. “So...stop?”

“I will.”

“When?”

Liam lifted one shoulder in a partial shrug. “When I’m done looking.”

Turning in her seat, she glanced out the window. “The scenery is beautiful.”

“It certainly is,” Liam murmured. She twisted back around and drew a breath, certainly to deliver a sharp rebuttal, but Liam wasn’t looking at her—he was staring at the lush jungle landscape outside.

The faint flush that spread across her exposed décolletage and crept up her neck was quite adorable, though he doubted she’d agree with his assessment. In his experience, few women were keen on being considered cute, and those that favored the more juvenile assessment weren’t the type he desired. But this woman—with her singular focus, quick wit and physical appeal—was exactly the type to pique his interests.

With her staying at the same resort, their paths were certain to cross.

Liam smiled.

Perhaps this trip wouldn’t be such a chore after all.

CHAPTER TWO

THE DRIVER SPED up to the resort’s elegant porte cochere and stopped with enough force that the van bounced back and forth on its shocks like a child’s rocking horse. When Ella could convince herself they had truly stopped, she mentally logged the travel time in case the wedding guests wanted to know...or take a cab. She peeled her fingers from her armrests. Her muscles suffered mild rigor as she attempted to move toward the open door. That meant she had to accept the hand offered to help her down. Only it wasn’t the driver. Her fellow passenger, the stranger she found all too alluring, had quickly and quietly exited and then, quite unexpectedly, rounded the shuttle and waited by her door. She paused.

He waited.

Chastising herself for hesitating, she took his hand and stepped out of the vehicle. After all, the gesture was nothing but a courtesy. Yes, he’d clearly been flirting earlier, but it had been innocent. Or innocent enough. The problem was that she’d wanted to flirt back. And flirty banter led to things she’d forbidden herself this trip, things like a tryst that could call her professionalism into question. It was just...

She glanced at him and found him staring at her unabashedly.

Damn it.

She turned her back on him, reaffirming her decision to avoid personal entertainment. Men like him were few and far between, and thank God for it. He was the exact type of distraction she couldn’t afford. Not on this trip. Not when her future hinged on the success of this job.

Stepping forward, she returned the doorman’s smile as he ushered her into the air-conditioned lobby. “Welcome to the Royal Crescent. Your luggage has been tagged. Once you’ve checked in, a valet will deliver your bags to your room.”

“Thank you,” she said.

Ella sighed as cool air swept over her bare arms and legs. Thank God for air-conditioning.

The resort seemed classy and sophisticated, giving an impression of subtle but irrefutable wealth and luxuries both small and large. A gentleman wearing all white and bearing a tray of champagne approached, offering her a glass. A single strawberry churned up bubbles as it gently bounced about the glass bottom.

She sipped and sighed again. Chilled to perfection, the dry bite was ideal with the fruit’s sweet tartness.

This place was going to be the perfect backdrop for the wedding Ella had planned.

Scanning the lobby, her gaze landed on the concierge desk and the three people staffing it. The obvious leader of the group, a uniformed man who appeared to be in his fifties, rose and headed her way with a grin. He stopped and said something in the ear of the waiter bearing the champagne. The younger man nodded and stepped to Ella’s left, proffering a glass to the person behind her, a person she didn’t need to see in order to identify.

Heat—his heat—spread across her back and chased away the air’s artificial chill. Her muscles, finally relaxing after the harried trip, became fluid, languid even. The urge to close the distance between them, to move back into what she knew was a solid torso, to feel the strength in the hands and arms that had effectively pinned her to her seat, had her instinctively shifting her weight onto her heels.

What the hell?

Sure, she believed in instant and undeniable attraction. Some called it chemistry. But her reaction to this total stranger was far beyond anything she’d ever experienced, and she didn’t like it. At all. It pushed against her self-control with the wildly rapid, incessantly repetitive tap-tap-tap of a crack-addled woodpecker.

Lust, untamed and unchecked. There was no other name for it.

The word wound through her senses and made her more aware of the earthy undertones of his cologne, the smell of hot leather from his briefcase and the susurrus of silk against wool as he moved.

“Madam?”

Ella blinked rapidly and brought the man she had assumed was the concierge into focus. “I’m sorry. Would you repeat that? I was lost in thought for a moment, I’m afraid.”

“I said my name is Arvin. I’m the resort’s head event coordinator. And a woman soon to be wed certainly cannot be blamed if her mind wanders a bit.” He grinned wider. “Particularly in an environment so conducive to romance, yes?”

Ella’s brow wrinkled as her brows squinched together. It was her typical reaction to stress, one her mother swore had begun at age three and would have Ella bearing deep, undesirable ridges in her forehead before she was forty. She absently pressed her fingertips against the ridges in an attempt to smooth her skin. “I’m sorry, but...who’s going to be newly wed?”

The coordinator’s smile faltered as he glanced between her and the stranger she knew still stood within earshot. “I...well...you are, madam.” He raised a clipboard that held several sheets of paper with printed information and handwritten notes in the margins. “My staff and I have worked diligently on the preparations for the ceremony, just as you requested.” He looked at the list and began ticking off items. “We’ve made arrangements for cake tasting, set up appointments with three florists, have a string quartet that will play in the lobby this evening so you might hear the quality of their performance. Then there’s the—”

“I’m not getting married,” she said. “I’m coordinating the wedding.”

“No.” The denial, issued in that decidedly upper-crust British accent, was ripe with disbelief. “Not you.”

Ella slowly turned to face the handsome stranger, working to keep her composure. “I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“You’re the one my sister hired to pull together this...this...” He dropped his briefcase and waved both hands wildly, the gesture encompassing the entire lobby. “This.”

“Do not tell me that you’re the family member my unnamed bride has chosen as her surrogate decision maker.”

“Oh, bloody hell. You are her. The event coordinator.” The last few words were enunciated with whip-like consonants and gunshot vowels.

“Yes, I am.”

The stranger downed his champagne in two long swallows then held the empty glass out with one hand while the waiter retrieved it. “You’re Ella Montgomery.”

“Again, yes, I am. You are?”

He watched her through narrowed eyes. “Liam Baggett. The bride’s brother.”

“Baggett.” Her mind raced through the list of starlets she’d compiled as possible brides, but none was named Baggett. In fact, the name didn’t ring any bells at all.

Confusion must have decorated her face, because Liam finally offered, “Half brother. Same father, different mothers. My mother died when I was very young, and my father remarried roughly five years later. My sister was born from that union.”

“Still, Baggett isn’t ringing any bells.” Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath, held it for a count of ten and then let it go to a second count of ten. What had she done? How had she let herself invest everything she had, from money to the last of her reputation, in an event she was expected to plan without contact with the bride? Had she been set up to fail? The thought made her stomach lurch, the motion as nauseating as it was violent. “Tell me I’m not being punked. Tell me I haven’t flown more than halfway around the world to be made a fool of. Tell me—”

“What I’ll tell you is that my sister used a different name for the screen to keep some type of separation between her private life and her public persona. It’s a closely guarded secret, hence the reason you’ll be dealing with me, not her.”

The event coordinator had watched the verbal volley with interest. “So you’re arranging your wedding while here, yes?”

“We’re not getting married,” they both said at the same time.

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand,” he said, small beads of sweat dotting his hairline as he glanced from his clipboard to Ella and finally to Liam.

“I’m not the bride,” Ella said through gritted teeth. “I’m the wedding planner for Mr. Baggett’s half sister and her fiancé.”

Arvin’s hands shook as he flipped through the paperwork on his clipboard, crossing out certain things and adding notes to others. “I see.” He looked up, pupils dark in wide eyes. “As I said before, my name is Arvin, and I am—”

“The resort’s event coordinator.” Ella shook Arvin’s hand by rote. “It’s nice to meet you, Arvin. I need to make sure that you understand that I am absolutely not the bride.”

“I’m clear, Ms. Montgomery, and I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding. My staff took to heart your admonition that all must be perfect. We have two team members plus myself at your disposal around the clock.” He glanced at the last page and paled radically. “Oh, sweet and merciful...”

“Arvin?”

“As a show of our appreciation for choosing the Royal Crescent, your room was upgraded to the honeymoon suite bungalow.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but it certainly wasn’t necessary.” Ella felt her brow furrow and let it do as it would, wrinkles be damned. “But the change doesn’t seem like something that would warrant panic.”

“Normally, it wouldn’t.” Arvin dragged his arm across his forehead to wipe away sweat that only popped right back up. “But there was, as I also previously indicated, the belief that you were the bride.” He began to fan himself with the clipboard. “And that...that... Mr. Baggett was your...”

“Groom,” Ella whispered, throat so tight the word emerged as a strangled wheeze.

Behind her, Liam made a choking sound.

Ella didn’t bother turning around. Surely he couldn’t be any more dumbfounded than she was. “I can’t, Arvin.” And she couldn’t. Proximity to that man would destroy every good intention she had. If she didn’t succumb to his flirtation, he’d likely succumb to hers. What happened after that was precisely what the honeymoon suite had been created for.

This was bad.

The event coordinator touched his earpiece and gave a fractional nod. “Your bags have been tagged and will be delivered within the half hour.”

“I can’t do this,” she whispered. “Rooming with Mr. Baggett is not an option.”

“I... I...” Arvin stood very straight.

Ella closed her eyes. This couldn’t be a portent of what lay ahead. It just...it couldn’t be. “If you’ll simply assign us separate rooms, I’ll retrieve my luggage and get to work on the wedding.”

Arvin tugged at his shirt collar, his face flushing a horrid fuchsia. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Montgomery, but the resort is booked solid. When we upgraded you and Mr. Baggett to the suite, the rooms that you each originally booked were assigned to guests on our waiting list.”

Ella took a second glass of champagne and threw it back, eyes watering with the bubbles’ bite. “Waiting list? How can there be a waiting list when this is supposed to be the beginning of the off-season?”

Arvin shrugged. “It’s our annual carnival.”

“That wasn’t advertised on the resort’s website.” Panic clawed its way up the back of her throat and threatened to choke off her air supply.

“I am sorry, Ms. Montgomery. Our website has been undergoing a complete redesign, and—”

“Surely there’s a neighboring resort. I could get a room there and commute back and forth to the Royal Crescent. A rental house. A house with a room for rent. A yurt. Something,” she muttered, looking around the crowded lobby. “Anything.”

The Brit behind her leaned in close, and the crisp smell of champagne that lay over a hint of tart strawberry wrapped around her as he spoke quietly into her ear. “This is the equivalent of the French Polynesian Mardi Gras, Ms. Montgomery. There won’t be rooms available anywhere on the island for a solid ten days. I’d have thought you, as a professional wedding planner, would have known as much.”

He was right. She should have known. But even her embarrassment wasn’t enough to stop his whispered breath from skating along her jaw and caressing the shape of her ear. Shivers threatened to shatter her composure. Things low in her belly tightened, and she stepped closer to the other man. “I can’t stay with him,” she said, the words tumbling over one another. “I can’t.”

“As I said, miss, the resort is booked to capacity. I’m certain we can find a...rollaway bed...perhaps?” There was a sense of undisguised pleading in his entire persona, from his nearly vibrating frame to the pitch of every word. “I cannot afford this type of mistake on my employment record, Ms. Montgomery. At the very least, I could be demoted. At worst?” He shook his head as he swallowed, the gulp loud enough to be heard over the hum of the crowded lobby. “And my wife—it would reflect poorly on her as well. Please, allow me to do whatever I may to make this right.”

Ella took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten and then let it out slowly. Squaring her shoulders, she faced Liam and offered a small approximation of a smile. “Surely we’re adult enough to make this work? I’ll take the rollaway; you take the bed. We’re going to be working together so much, this might even work to our benefit.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed farther. “What do you hope to gain?”

“Nothing.” She looked back at Arvin. “It’s what I don’t want him to lose.”

Liam was quiet long enough Ella was certain she’d have to plead with him to go along with it. Then he spoke, his voice rich with implied debauchery. “Surely, as two grown adults in command of their faculties and capable of informed decision making, we can share a room for a few days.”

Ella swallowed hard and nodded. “It’s just for a few days.”

CHAPTER THREE

DESPITE HIS IRRITATION with the situation, Liam had to admit he admired the woman in front of him. She obviously didn’t want to room with him, and, while that stung his damnable pride as much as it piqued his equally damnable interest, he found a solid sense of respect blooming alongside his lust. No matter who’d made the mistake, she wouldn’t let this hotel employee suffer for the error.

The singular good thing that came from this debacle? Proximity to Ella would make manipulating the situation much, much easier. A few well-placed comments, a nudge here, a suggestion there and voilà. The unrealistically short engagement following an even shorter committed relationship would not result in the worst possible outcome: a wedding. No, the event would be canceled, and Liam could go back to his day-to-day operations in London while his sister, Jenna, came to her senses about the type of man her fiancé truly was: gold digger, fame seeker, all-around narcissistic bastard and someone whose short-fused temper didn’t suit Jenna’s go-with-the-flow demeanor. Sure, she’d be livid at first. And likely a bit heartbroken. But when she realized the future Liam had saved her from? She’d be grateful. He could weather the emotional storm until that understanding dawned. She was an exceptionally bright woman. It wouldn’t take long.

He nodded to the other gentleman. “I’ve been a guest here before, so I’ll show Ms. Montgomery to the appropriate over-the-water bungalow if you’ll provide general directions.” Arvin began to speak, offering to take them himself, but Liam gently interrupted. “Ms. Montgomery would likely benefit from a chance to quietly settle into her living quarters before she begins her work. My sister, the bride, is a bit, hmm. Let’s call her exacting.”

Ella stood tall, strong, as she drew in a sharp breath and her spine went a fraction more rigid. A fraction was all she had to spare, though, without outright shattering from the afternoon’s stress. He felt a bit bad for her, but his primary objective was postponing the wedding if not outright stopping it. For good.

Directions were provided without hesitation, and Liam offered Ella his arm. “I suppose calling you ‘darling’ at this point wouldn’t go over so well. Shall we?”

Ignoring the gentlemanly gesture, Ella rolled her eyes and bit her lip. He watched as she licked her lower lip with slow, smooth sensuality. “Well, this is about as bad as it can get.” She looked up through thick lashes. “Right? Tell me this is as bad as it can get.”

Liam blinked a couple of times and rolled his shoulders in an attempt to dislodge the guilt draped around his neck like a heavy stole. “It can always get worse.”

She shook her head. “Just once, I wish someone would lie to me when I ask them to instead of lying to me when I don’t expect it.”

The guilt wound around his neck like a garrote, strangling his response. “Bungalows are this way.” He gestured to the nearest door and, taking her messenger bag for her before cupping her elbow, gently steered her toward the exit. The nagging voice in his head, the part that made him good at reading people in the boardroom, wouldn’t hush. He had to know what she’d meant. “People lie to you often?”

“I’m a wedding planner.” She shot him a short look and snorted with incredible derision. “I see people lie to me, their parents, their significant others all the time. People tend to lie the most when it matters the most.”

“Are you always so cynical?”

“Practical.” Gently pulling her elbow from his grip, she held out her hand and waggled her fingers. When he didn’t respond, she plucked her bag from his shoulder. “And I can manage.”

“No doubt.” Still, he opened the door for her. He’d do what he had to do to spare his sister, but he’d still treat Ella Montgomery like the lady she was. Until he couldn’t, for Jenna’s sake. If Ella had siblings, she’d understand. Surely. “How, exactly, do people manage to lie the most when it matters the most?”

“Honestly? Lies always matter.” She navigated the narrow bridge that led away from the sand and out to the bungalows.

“To the right, here,” Liam said, pointing toward a bungalow set away from the others. “I suppose they wanted to provide us some privacy, being newlyweds and all.”

She laughed softly. “Sound carries more efficiently over water than it does land.”

An image of her, hair out of its neat twist and spread around her, linen sheets rumpled and draped across her naked body, one breast bared, a long leg exposed to the hip... Sweet Mary, save him from his suddenly overactive imagination. Heat burned through him like fuel exposed to a lightning strike. He had to focus, to remember what they’d been talking about and remind himself she’d failed to answer his question. “For clarity’s sake...” Irritated at the tightness in his throat, he reached up and, with rough execution, undid his tie and the top button of his dress shirt. Then he tried again. “For clarity’s sake, does a white lie qualify? Particularly if it’s meant to spare one’s feelings?”

She paused at the door and waited while he retrieved one of the two keys in the little envelope and swiped it across the electronic door lock. He handed her the spare key and then pushed the door open to a spacious, elegant bungalow complete with a small infinity-edge pool, glass-paneled floor in the living room, small kitchen and, through the open French doors, a mosquito-netted king bed with an abundance of pillows.

“Go on then,” he said as he moved into the bedroom and dropped his briefcase on the desk. An enormous fresh flower arrangement was situated on one nightstand and scented the ocean breeze with the smell of freesia, roses and something utterly wild. He paused to trace a finger along a single rose petal before calling out, “I’m all ears.”

“Just forget it.” Her voice was muffled, as if she were in the bathroom.

“Can’t. Sorry. Nature of the beast.”

“Look, bottom line is that I’ve come to believe there’s not a time when being lied to doesn’t matter. If it’s important enough to lie about, it’s important.” She leaned around the corner, inhaling as if to say something else, but her eyes widened and she gasped. “This is the honeymoon suite?” She walked through the room and headed straight out the second set of French doors that led to the expansive deck and the view of the crystalline waters and colorful reefs teeming with sea life. “This is incredible!”

“Almost makes it worth being married.”

She shot him a sharp look. “Consider our marriage annulled.”

“Such short wedded bliss,” he said on a sigh. “I didn’t even get to kiss the bride.”

She laughed, the sound soft but reserved. “You wish.”

“I do.”

This time, she truly laughed. Liam found himself caught between wanting to watch versus taking her mouth with his and swallowing the sexy, sultry sound. He hadn’t realized he’d been waiting to hear her laughter, but he had. She had the kind of laugh that would turn men’s heads, would compel them to seek out the siren responsible. And though he wasn’t one to wager, Liam was absolutely willing to bet Ella was a fun lover, one who laughed when she loved—right up to the point that teasing and laughter were consumed by passion that would be as avaricious as it was unreserved.

Her laughter trailed off, but Liam continued to stare. He couldn’t look away. Never had a woman enchanted him like this, and she’d done it unintentionally and without an ounce of pretension. And suddenly, he had to know—had to fill in a blank his imagination had created.

“What would our kiss have been like?”

Her gaze darted to his, her lips parted and the tip of her tongue swept out and touched the edge of her cupid’s bow. Different emotions ranging from surprise to curiosity flashed across her face, but Liam was most interested in the emotional revelation that struck.

Desire.

He stepped closer and paused, giving her every chance to tell him to bugger off. Instead, she shifted so their hips lined up, her body acknowledging what she verbally denied. “There wouldn’t have been a kiss.”

“You won’t kiss your groom? Rather odd, don’t you think?”

“You’re not my groom.” Her voice was raspy, husky and told him everything he needed to know.

“And you’re not my bride, yet I still can’t stop myself from wondering.”

“Stop putting ideas in my head.”

“Where would you rather I put them?” he teased.

“Oh, God,” she whispered, moving fractionally toward him. “You’re temptation incarnate.”

He leaned forward, bracing a hand on the railing on either side of her. “And what’s your position on temptation?”

“Never turn it down.”

“Why?”

She moved into him, closing that final distance so their bodies touched. One slender hand rested on his chest; the other wound through his hair, gripping just tight enough to exert control. Eyes locked with his, she pulled him toward her at the same time she rose on her toes. “You never know when it might come around again.”

Liam groaned as their mouths came together in a rush of heat and hurry and hunger. There was nothing tentative about the kiss. It would burn hot and then hotter until it became a supernova that consumed them both.

Her body was pliant, yielding to his, pushing back against him in every critical place. Liam wondered that their clothes didn’t turn to ash at every point of contact.